German car sales continue to rise

Sales of new cars in Germany have continued to rise, as its scrappage scheme entices more buyers into the showroom.

Germany's VDA automobile federation revealed that car sales had increased by 19% in April, compared with the same period last year.

However, the rise in sales was not as sharp as the 40% figure for March.

The German scrappage scheme gives owners 2500 (around 2200) for trading in a car that's over nine years old.

Other European countries have not fared so well, with France experiencing a fall of 7% in April and 7.5% in Italy for the same period.

The UK's scrappage scheme comes into effect later this month.

• German car maker BMW, meanwhile, has announced it has made a net loss of 133 million for the first quarter of 2009, as sales of its cars slumped by 13%.